Amalfi Coast Sailing Itinerary: 7 Days Round-Trip from Salerno

Your week begins at Marina d'Arechi just south of Salerno — 50 to 60 minutes from Capodichino airport by car, or a 1-hour-26-minute Frecciarossa direct from Rome's Termini station for guests routing through Rome. The marina takes catamarans and sailing yachts through 100 meters in 8 meters of water at the quay; the wide entrance and lower berthing rates compared to the Naples-side marinas make it the operational base for the catamaran end of this region's charter inventory. Your professional crew meets you at the slip with cold drinks and a chart briefing that frames the week ahead.

Mid-morning the captain slips lines for the gentle 6-nautical-mile run west to Cetara — the small fishing village tucked under the SS163 cliff road at the eastern end of the Costiera Amalfitana proper, and one of the few places on this coast that is still working as a fishing port rather than as a tourist destination. Lunch is on the small town quay or on board at anchor: anchovies are Cetara's calling card, and the village invented colatura di alici (a clear amber sauce produced from salt-cured anchovies, fermented and pressed) which has been made here since Roman times. Al Convento or Acqua Pazza for the formal version; the harborside grills for the casual.

After lunch a short 5-nautical-mile run further west takes you to Amalfi town. Marina Coppola at the harbor takes yachts up to 35 meters in 8 to 11 meters of water — the most sheltered berth on this stretch of coast, ten minutes' walk from the Cathedral of Sant'Andrea at the top of the town's main piazza. Evening: a long dinner at Eolo on the seafront or a simple grilled-fish trattoria off the main piazza, the cathedral lit up above the town and the harbor quiet by 23:00.

Ravello sits seven kilometers up the cliff above Amalfi — about twenty minutes by private driver up the SS373 hairpins. Half-day excursion: tender to the Pennello pier at 9:30, driver up the switchbacks, an hour at Villa Rufolo's gardens (the cantilevered Belvedere stage where the Ravello Festival has run every summer since 1953, and where Wagner wrote in the guestbook in 1880 that he'd found Klingsor's magic garden), then a short walk to Villa Cimbrone for the Belvedere of Infinity — the cliff-edge terrace lined with marble busts. Coffee in Piazza Duomo, back to the yacht in time for a 13:00 lunch.

Mid-afternoon the captain slips lines for the 13-nautical-mile run west around the tip of the Sorrento Peninsula to Nerano. The route hugs the coast — Praiano on the starboard side, the arched bridge over the Fiordo di Furore directly above as you pass under, the cliffs at Conca dei Marini and the Emerald Grotto's entrance buoys visible from the deck. By late afternoon the boat is anchored offshore Marina del Cantone in 8 to 15 meters of sand, the Sorrento Peninsula sheltering the bay from the north.

Evening: dinner at Lo Scoglio (Da Tommaso) — the family-run restaurant tucked into the hillside above the bay, with its own private wooden tender that runs from anchored yachts to the terrace. The order is set: spaghetti alla Nerano, grilled day-boat fish, a Greco di Tufo from the cellar. Lo Scoglio is one of the most-photographed restaurants on the Italian coast and Stanley Tucci's introduction in "Searching for Italy" made it more so — the concierge holds the table weeks in advance during peak season. Conca del Sogno at Recommone bay just east is the alternative, also boat-only, also runs its own tender shuttle.

The shortest passage of the week — a 5-nautical-mile hop across the Bocche di Capri from Nerano to Capri. Most weeks the captain stages it for late morning so the day-tripper ferries from Naples and Sorrento have already landed and the harbors are at their busiest before lunch. Capri is most enjoyable from the water in the late afternoon and evening; the boat angle handles the morning differently.

On the way in, the captain holds station off the Faraglioni rocks for the photographs, then anchors at Marina Piccola in 6 to 10 meters of sand on the south side or stern-tos at Marina Grande on the north for yachts up to 60 meters that have a berth booked in advance (the marina sells out months ahead in summer). Lunch is on the boat at anchor — the chef's spaghetti alle vongole or the day's catch grilled on the aft-deck plancha. Pasta-by-the-water in Italy isn't a cliché, it's the right thing to do.

The afternoon belongs to the Blue Grotto if conditions allow — a tender drop at the cave mouth on the northwest side of the island, and one of the grotto's wooden rowboats through the 80-centimeter opening. €18 per person, payable cash to the oarsmen, closed when the swell is up. Late afternoon as the day boats clear, the funicular up to the Piazzetta lands you in the heart of Capri Town for an evening walk before dinner. Mammà off the Piazzetta for one Michelin star, Aurora for the family-owned room with the long wine list, or Da Paolino under the lemon canopy at the foot of Monte Solaro for the iconic dinner-under-the-trees experience (booked weeks ahead in peak season).

Capri's reputation for being crowded comes from the day-trippers, and the yacht is the cheat code for getting around them. The standard play this morning is up early — chairlift to Monte Solaro at 8:00 AM before the first ferry from Sorrento has landed. The chair runs from Anacapri to the highest point on the island in twelve minutes, and from the summit you can see the whole Amalfi Coast laid out south and the Bay of Naples north. By 9:30, when the day boats are coming in, you're back at Anacapri for an espresso and a walk through Villa San Michele — Axel Munthe's villa-and-garden, built into the ruins of one of Tiberius's chapels in 1896.

Late morning, the tender drops you back at Marina Piccola where the catamaran is anchored in 6 to 10 meters on sand. The shallower-draft catamaran has a real advantage here — closer to shore, easier swim platform, more comfortable for the afternoon. Lunch on board, then the swim platform is open: snorkel along the cliff base, kayaks and paddleboards off the transom for the kids. Capri's Marina Piccola is famous for being the photo-postcard angle of the Faraglioni — the long lazy afternoon at anchor under the rocks is the entire point of being on a yacht here.

Late afternoon as the cruise crowd thins, the captain repositions the catamaran for an evening passage around the Faraglioni — the famous arch transit at Faraglione di Mezzo if the sea is flat enough — then back to Marina Piccola for sundowners on deck. Dinner is your call: La Fontelina under the rocks for the daytime spot, or back on the boat tonight for the chef's full evening setup. Le Grottelle near the Arco Naturale (closed Tuesdays, phone reservations only via +39 081 8375719) for guests wanting the off-the-tourist-track room.

Today is the longest passage of the week — an open 18-nautical-mile crossing northwest from Capri to Ischia across the Bocche di Capri. On a sailing yacht or catamaran with the right wind angle this is the day the canvas comes out — typically a beam reach in light-to-moderate summer breezes, with the cliffs of the Sorrento Peninsula falling off the stern and Ischia's volcanic flanks growing on the bow. In settled June and September weather it's a comfortable three-hour run; in shoulder months it's timed to the breeze direction.

Ischia is the largest of the Bay of Naples islands and the one with the longest history of being visited specifically for its thermal water — the springs that seep out of Mt. Epomeo's flanks have been drawing Romans, Bourbons, and twentieth-century film directors for two thousand years. Your captain's anchorage choice shapes the day. Casamicciola, on the north shore, is the better-protected bay and an easy tender hop to the thermal complex at Negombo (a private booking gets your group a dozen pools at different temperatures terraced into the hillside). Forio on the western coast is the choice for the late-afternoon sun and a quieter evening at anchor.

Late afternoon the catamaran repositions to the Castello Aragonese — the medieval fortress on its own islet off the eastern shore of Ischia, connected to the main island by a stone causeway. It's been continuously inhabited for 2,500 years, fortified into its current shape under the Aragonese in the 15th century, and it's the visual marker most charter clients carry away from Ischia. Dinner is on board at anchor, the silhouette of the Castello off the bow as the lights come on along the causeway.

A short 5-nautical-mile hop south takes you from Ischia to Procida — the smallest and most underrated of the Bay of Naples islands, the pastel-coloured one that turns up in every Italian-cinema postcard from the 1950s. Marina Corricella is the photographable side; Marina di Chiaiolella on the southwest is the protected anchorage. Mid-morning swim, an espresso at a kafeneion ashore in Corricella, lunch on the boat at anchor with the fishing fleet coming and going.

Mid-afternoon the captain slips lines for the 14-nautical-mile run southeast across the Bay of Naples to Sorrento. Vesuvius sits to port, the Sorrento Peninsula directly on the bow, the long gentle curve of the bay underneath. Late afternoon arrival at Sorrento's Marina Piccola — a small craft harbor shared with the public ferry pier, only suitable for yachts up to 40 meters and chronically congested in peak summer. The catamaran's 12-to-14-meter beam fits the visitor side of the marina; larger yachts anchor offshore and tender in.

Sorrento's old town climbs the cliff above the marina, and the Foreigners' Club terrace at the top is the right place for a sunset aperitivo before dinner. Il Buco for the one-Michelin-star room in the 16th-century monastery cellar five minutes from the marina; or fifteen minutes up the ridge to Sant'Agata for Don Alfonso 1890 — back to one Michelin star plus a green star after their 2025 sustainability renovation.

An 8-nautical-mile run east from Sorrento takes you back to Positano for a last morning on this stretch of coast. Yachts up to 50 meters pick up a buoy in the offshore mooring field maintained by the local cooperative — there's no marina at Positano, just the buoy field and the wooden jetty at Spiaggia Grande for tender landings. Mid-morning ashore: a short walk up the cliff steps to one of the small cafés along Via Cristoforo Colombo for an espresso, the dome of Santa Maria Assunta with its majolica tile catching the morning light, and a last look at the cliff-stack from the angle most photographs of this town can't reach from shore.

Back to the boat by 11:00, swim platform open one final time, lunch on board at the buoy. By early afternoon the captain is slipping the mooring line for the 12-nautical-mile run east along the coast back to Salerno. The route hugs the cliffs — Praiano, Furore's arched bridge, Conca dei Marini, Amalfi town from the water one last time, and the long final approach into Marina d'Arechi past the breakwater.

Disembarkation at Marina d'Arechi by mid-afternoon. Crew has the transfer arranged — direct to NAP for guests flying out the same day, or to Roma Termini via direct Frecciarossa from Salerno's Stadio Arechi station (1 hour 26 minutes to Rome, often easier than driving back to Naples). Many groups stretch the trip with a post-charter night in Salerno itself or a Pompeii day on the way back to Naples — both 30 minutes by car from the marina.